Fleeting Glimpses of Gold!

Fleeting Glimpses of Gold!

We arrived at RSPB Bempton Cliffs in hopes of seeing an extremely rare Pale-legged Leaf Warbler. We were accompanied by Dave, who we had given a lift to. On our drive to Bempton we spotted a Barn Owl perched by the side of the road. It soon got up and flew alongside us in the car, going almost the exact same speed as us and giving incredible views 

Upon arrival at Bempton, we were greeted by a large crowd of birders, who all seemed to be looking at something in the car park. We parked in a convenient space opposite them and jumped out to see what they were looking at. Since I was at the back of the crowd, it was impossible for me to see over the birders. Dave then took us round to a gap in the hedge, where the bird had been showing well yesterday. We sat on the floor waiting for it to appear in the undergrowth. Suddenly, the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler flitted right in front of us, calling. Although it was the bird, I didn't ideally want to tick the bird off those views, and decided to wait for better views. This meant running along with the crowd, to where the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler had supposedly been seen, just to not see it at all. However, I did manage to get good views of at least three Yellow-browed Warbler (including one self-found bird, which I saw while having a snack in the car). We took a break from running around in circles and met Trevor ,who pointed out a flock of c20 Skylarks all feeding above us in a big group. Eventually, after a bit of chasing, the bird flew over to where it was in the morning. While everyone rushed over to where they had all been viewing before, I went over to the gap in the hedge. Suddenly, the bird came into full view, right in front of me on the floor, hopping around on a log on the ground. It then did the same thing again, showing amazingly well. Unfortunately, I had left my camera at home, so I wasn't able to get a record shot of this beautiful warbler.

Finally satisfied with my views, we made our way along the clifftop path over to North Dyke, to get a lifer Siberian Stonechat. Along the way, we met two birders who pointed out the Siberian Stonechat, along a nearby fenceline, showing amazingly well. 

We then travelled to Holmes Gut, where I was fortunate in getting amazing views of the Icterine Warbler, after only a short wait. We set up the scope and were hoping to get a photo, but after waiting ages for another view, we were unsuccessful. 

We then decided to make our way to Spurn for another lifer. Enroute, we tried for one of my most wanted birds, the Hoopoe. I had dipped one last week by seconds, so I was extra eager to see this one! As soon as we arrived, we got out the car and joined the small crowd who were already on the Hoopoe. It was within a few feet of us and was unbothered by anything. Dave then set up his scope and I managed to get a few record shots of the bird. I also managed to get some views of the bird in flight and with it's crest up, which was fantastic to see. Suddenly, the bird flew off and out of view, so we decided to head over to Spurn to try and get my fifth lifer of the day!

We arrived at Spurn at around 3:00pm and immediately made our way to the visitor centre. After a short while, our target bird came into full view. The Arctic Warbler came and sat right out in the open, allowing me to get some horrible record shots of it, through my binoculars. It was extremely tame, showing up to just a few metres, before shortly dipping out of view. We were ecstatic with the ease of this lifer. We then made our way to Kilnsea Wetlands to try and find the Pallid Harrier.

As soon as we arrived at Kilnsea Wetlands, we had been told the Pallid Harrier had flown over to Welwick, presumably to roost. We then made our way over to Easington Lagoons to try and locate an American Wigeon. Along the way, we got a call from Hep and Abby (who were also on site) saying that they had the Pallid Harrier from the car park and that it was going along the Humber. After a bit of scanning, Dave managed to find the Pallid Harrier and put us on it. It was a spec in the distance, but it was distinctive in the way it flew!

As soon as we arrived at Easington Lagoons, all the Wigeons flew up and headed towards Beacon Ponds. We did however see a few Pink-footed Geese mixed in with a large flock of Greylag Geese out in the fields, along with a Wheatear and a few Knot. Once we were back at Beacon Ponds, we scanned through the roosting Wigeons and I spotted a bird, with a greyish head, greenish eyestripe and pale flanks. It was the American Wigeon. I got a few digiscoped images of it and confirmed it with an expert. We also spotted 4 Greenshanks, along with a few Bar-tailed Godwits and Snipe, as well as a large flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover. 

We made our way back to the car, making a quick stop in the hide at Kilnsea Wetlands to see what was about. As soon as we entered the hide, we met a birder named Graham who pointed out a Garganey mixed in with the Teal at the back of the pool. There were also around 50 Pintail and many Black-tailed Godwits on the pool too. Once back at the car, we drove over to Welwick Saltmarsh on the way home to try and get better views of the Pallid Harrier, but to no avail. 

Overall, an amazing day with 5 lifers (Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, Siberian Stonechat, Icterine Warbler, Hoopoe and Arctic Warbler) along with many incredible birds!